Paul Atreides may have given his heart to one person but he also has a duty to uphold. The Duke of Arrakis (in his own eyes) has a choice to make at the end of the movie: Do something for love or do what the people need him to do.
Spoilers ahead for Dune: Part Two
During Paul’s time with the Fremen in Dune: Part Two, he falls in love with Chani (Zendaya). The two are willing to share their lives with each other and even when she is furious at him for what he has chosen to take on, you can still see the love there between them. Paul (Timothée Chalamet) has taken on a power to help fulfill his destiny and it causes a rift within his relationship with Chani.
That rift grows even deeper when Paul very clearly tells her that he loves her with his entire heart only to propose to someone else. When Princess Irulan (Florence Pugh) appears with her father and it is revealed that Shaddam IV (Christopher Walken) ordered the murder of Leto Atreides (Oscar Isaac), Paul is ready for vengeance. He fights Feyd-Rautha (Austin Butler) to the death and when it is all said and done, Paul is still willing to marry Princess Irulan to begin bridging the gap that will allow the Fremen to be free.
It is a marriage of convenience and one that is only meant to be a business transaction for Paul, who is still in love with Chani.
Can there be love in this marriage?
Discussion of the books and potential plot points for Dune: Part Three ahead
The issue with Irulan’s marriage to Paul is that she was unaware (in the books at least) of his relationship with Chani and believed that she would be the one to give birth to the heir to the Atreides throne. That doesn’t really work out since Paul refuses to sleep with Irulan because of his devotion to Chani. It fuels Irulan’s jealousy and ultimately results in treachery on her part.
Whether the Denis Villeneuve movies or future stories are going to dive into that aspect of Irulan’s story, we don’t know yet. But the ending of Dune: Part Two did have Irulan and Paul agreeing to marriage. If Villeneuve is set to embark on this storyline, it will result in three children for Chani and Paul, twins who marry each other, and Irulan being involved in a murder she didn’t really mean to do.
The Irulan/Paul/Chani love triangle is complicated, to say the least, with Irulan thinking she would have some kind of connection in her marriage and with Paul staying faithful to Chani, who is labeled as his concubine.
(featured image: Warner Bros.)
